I was asked to take photos during a Feb. Playwrights Festival by a local theatre company.

During a panel discussion, the celebrity playwright, Jack Heifner, was asked how he felt about following the historical record when writing a play concerning historical figures. The title of this thread is as close as i can remember to his reply. He said that if you don't tell a good story, then customers won't come out to see your play and the work is for naught. Then some concept like interpretive story telling was brought out. None of the 3 professionals on the panel had a problem with those statements, by the way.

Then it struck me like a deja vue event, this is just like the photography question of how much and which methods one should use in post processing images. Alain Briot, of course, has a column on Lula where he talks about which processing methods he uses for art as compared to which ones Ansel Adams used.

A friend and I have been decorating the lobby of this theatre for 3 years with photos from the dress rehearsals for each new play. And doing it in an artistic manner (or at least we try :-)), frequently incorporating 3D objects with the photos, hanging images from the ceiling during one notable play about dogs, all with only infrequent adjustments/suggestions from management.

Art transcends artificial barriers between painting, photography, sculpture and performance arts, its all good and can be used to augment the other. So i find it not that unusual that a concept from playwriting about interpretive story telling has its parallels in photographic art.

I don't know if many of you visit art galleries, but i do it at least monthly and look at paintings as much as photographs. Co-op galleries are my favorite because when business is slow, the artists tending the gallery are more than glad to discuss their art with you. Artists have much in common.

I don't know if many of you visit art galleries, but i do it at least monthly and look at paintings as much as photographs. Co-op galleries are my favorite because when business is slow, the artists tending the gallery are more than glad to discuss their art with you. Artists have much in common.

Edward was too drastic: the best is an enigmatic smile. Worked for the greatest cover girl in the world. Ms. Gioconda was her name.

Rob C

That is funny, if i understand it correctly. On our last show, my friend and i put a compass rose on the display wall along with other items. My friend had deliberately switched out the East at 90 deg from North with a W(est) to provide some ambiguity in the display, the play's theme was all about finding direction in life. The director called me up 2 days before the show and asked me this question: Was it deliberate or a mistake? I assured her it was deliberate and then she was OK with it because it was done for art. If i had said a mistake, i'm sure she would have insisted it was a mistake.

But yeah, artists sometimes have a lot of difficulty why they did something, and sometimes viewers read a lot more into the object than was ever intended, perhaps :-)

People bring their own experiences to bear when they look at a picture. If there is any ambiguity in the picture, than the interpretation of that can be totally different, and the attractiveness as well.

I showed a friend a print of HCB that i've always liked - my favorite. The friend hated it because of a personal experience he had. I was stunned at his reaction until i found out the reason why. He had a totally different interpretation than i did about what was going on in the picture.